The Founders' Journey

38 Days at Sea Alone: Tercera Founder Chris Barbin on Control, Guilt, and Fatherhood

In 2016, Chris Barbin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbarbin/] sold Appirio, the company he built from four founders to 1,500 employees, to Wipro for more than $500 million. This spring, he spent 38 days completely alone on the Pacific, rowing 1,750 miles from Monterey to Puerto Vallarta with no support boat, no sail, and no motor. Chris joins Ryan Heckman [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/] to talk about the leap from operator to private equity investor at Tercera [https://tercera.io/], and the concept of drift, the miles you lose when the oars stop moving, which became his metaphor for marriage, fatherhood, and his son's recovery from addiction. Listeners will walk away with a sharper sense of what to control and what to simply adapt to. Chris Barbin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbarbin/] | Tercera [https://tercera.io/] Hosted by Ryan Heckman [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/], Co-Founder & CEO of Rallyday Partners. [https://rallydaypartners.com/] Chris Barbin is not an investor in one or more of Rallyday Partners' private funds and did not receive any cash or non-cash compensation for appearing on this episode. To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please submit your nominations here [https://rallydaypartners.com/nominate/]. www.RallydayPartners.com

Investment Banker Series: Inside 24 Years of Healthcare M&A, Dealmaking, and Compounding Wisdom

Kevin Palamara [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palamara-9373997a/] has spent his entire 24-year career at one firm, a rarity in investment banking, and it shows. As a Managing Director at Provident Healthcare Partners [https://www.providenthp.com], Kevin has been on the front lines of the private equitization of American healthcare, from fax-machine deal rooms in 2002 to today's fiercely competitive physician practice markets. In this conversation, Ryan and Kevin unpack the sectors moving fastest right now (oncology, urology, retina), the difference between referral-driven and consumer-facing healthcare businesses and why selecting the wrong private equity partner in a physician deal can be catastrophic for patients and providers alike. Listeners will walk away with a clearer picture of what a specialty investment bank actually does, and why the compounding wisdom of a 25-year healthcare banker is something no AI search can replicate. Kevin Palamara [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palamara-9373997a/] | Provident Healthcare Partners [https://www.providenthp.com] Hosted by Ryan Heckman [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/], Co-Founder & CEO of Rallyday Partners [https://rallydaypartners.com/]. Kevin Palamara is not an investor in one or more of Rallyday Partners' private funds and did not receive any cash or non-cash compensation for appearing on this podcast. To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please submit your nominations here [https://rallydaypartners.com/nominate/]. www.RallydayPartners.com

How to Lose Like a Gladiator: Denver Broncos Legend Karl Mecklenburg on Leadership, Grit, and Gratitude

Karl Mecklenburg [https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlmecklenburg/] was the Swiss Army knife of the Denver Broncos defense, a six-time Pro Bowler who played all seven front positions and never told the offense where he was going. But what Ryan Heckman [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/] remembers most is how Karl walked off the field after a loss. In this conversation, they explore the leadership lessons hiding inside professional football: what it means to mentor rather than protect your own job, why decisiveness is a skill (not a personality trait), and how the framework "prepare thoroughly, perform decisively, evaluate honestly, adjust accordingly" applies as cleanly to a sales meeting as to a goal-line stand. Listeners will walk away with a reframe on failure, grit, and what thankfulness has to do with greatness. Karl Mecklenburg [https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlmecklenburg/] | Karl Mecklenburg NFL Keynote Speaker [https://karlmecklenburg.com/] Hosted by Ryan Heckman [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/], Co-Founder & CEO of Rallyday Partners. [https://rallydaypartners.com/] Karl Mecklenburg is not an investor in one or more of Rallyday Partners [https://rallydaypartners.com/] private funds and did not receive any cash or non-cash compensation for participating in this podcast.  To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please submit your nominations here [https://rallydaypartners.com/nominate/]. www.RallydayPartners.com

How David Gardner Built The Motley Fool by Beating the Market and Breaking the Rules

David Gardner [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-gardner-a633645b/] co-founded The Motley Fool [https://www.fool.com/] on AOL in 1994 at age 28, with $50,000 of his own money and a belief that most people still don't share: that ordinary investors can beat the market. In this conversation, Ryan [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/] and David trace the origins of Rule Breaker Investing, the third school of thought that sits between Bogle's indexing and Buffett's value discipline, and how it led Gardner to Amazon, Nvidia, and Tesla decades before the crowd arrived. They also go deep on the principles underneath the strategy: winning requires lots of losing, the most important things in business can't be captured as numbers, and the quiet power of serving others before chasing success. Listeners will walk away with a sharper lens for how to think about risk, conviction, and what it actually means to invest like a founder. David Gardner [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-gardner-a633645b/] | The Motley Fool [https://www.fool.com/] Hosted by Ryan Heckman [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/], Co-Founder & CEO of Rallyday Partners. David Gardner is not an investor in one or more of Rallyday Partners [https://rallydaypartners.com/] private funds and did not receive any cash or non-cash compensation for participating in this podcast.  To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please submit your nominations here [https://rallydaypartners.com/nominate/]. www.RallydayPartners.com

How Linda Rottenberg Built Endeavor Into a $100B Global Entrepreneur Network

What if the future of entrepreneurship is not Silicon Valley, but everywhere else? In this episode of The Founders’ Journey, Ryan Heckman [https://rallydaypartners.com/people/ryan-heckman/] sits down with Linda Rottenberg [https://endeavor.org/about-us/linda-rottenberg/], Co-founder and CEO of Endeavor [https://endeavor.org/]. What began in Buenos Aires in 1997 has grown into a global network spanning 45+ countries, helping build companies that generate over $100 billion in revenue.  Linda shares how Endeavor transformed entire ecosystems by backing founders early and creating a powerful network effect across the world. They also explore a core idea we believe deeply in at Rallyday: Belief Capital. Why founders need more than money, and how trust, purpose, and community drive the most enduring companies. This is a conversation about scaling globally, leading through uncertainty, and building something that truly matters. If you are a founder, investor, or builder, this one is worth your time. Linda Rottenberg is not an investor in one or more of Rallyday Partners [https://rallydaypartners.com/] private funds and did not receive any cash or non-cash compensation for participating in this podcast. To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please submit your nominations here [https://rallydaypartners.com/nominate/]. www.RallydayPartners.com